Class of 2007
by bendita15
Summary: Naruto returns to Konoha High School to speak at graduation. His favorite student, Sasuke, confronts him for leaving. AU/AR Warnings: Stalking, violence, sexual content, minor, character death.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke strides into the crowded auxiliary gymnasium, cursing to himself. He doesn't want to go through with this, but his dads want him to. Kakashi and Iruka had promised him ice cream if he would walk. He had consented. Iruka had smiled and hugged Sasuke. "I'm so proud of you!" Kakashi had smiled behind his mask and gone to cook dinner. They had been surprised to hear Sasuke didn't want to celebrate in a grand manner; however, they simply chuckled when he refused to let them buy him a senior-party ticket. "I don't know anyone there anymore," he had grumped. Since Naruto left, Sasuke had avoided everyone much more than usual. He had spoken occasionally to Gaara and Neji, but not anyone else.  
He fiddles with his cap, yanking it so the tassel faces left. After this ordeal, I will gorge on a large container of Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream, he thinks to himself. He will have to wait twenty-four hours—this is the rehearsal. His classmates are milling about, not saying much out of anxiety. They have already discussed their plans for after graduation. Ino will become a makeup artist. Choji will become a food critic. Gaara will study sand. Lee will become a fashion designer. Everyone thinks he will work with green as his central color. Shika will be a meteorologist. Shino will study bugs. Sasuke walks over to his assigned seat.  
Tenten hopes to have her own chain of hair salons. Hinata will work as a mentor to underprivileged children. Temari will be a dispatcher for a rape crisis center. Sakura will be a social worker. The fold-up metal chair is cold. Neji and Sai calmly deadpanned that they would either be escorts in well-paying brothels or join a gang. No one was too surprised to hear that.  
The rest of the class of 2007 are all dropouts. Many of them quit school after Naruto left. Others had gotten pregnant in freshman year and could not pay for abortions, so they had dropped out. Still others had joined a gang, already, in the summer of or directly in freshman year. None of the already-gang members or pregnant-in-freshman-year students had gotten to meet Naruto. The rest had, and all adored him. Sasuke doesn't know what he wants to do with his life after graduation. He had wanted to live with Naruto. Had.  
"I'm bored," someone calls out. The others laugh. Sasuke remains quiet and inexpressive. Kiba looks over at Sasuke. He plans on taking over the family business of dog breeding. Kiba has always been friendly to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, are you excited?"  
"Hn."  
Kiba always invited Sasuke to sit with his friends at the lunch table, not alone as Sasuke was prone to do. Sasuke had sat with them on several occasions and contributed to the conversations they had, but he preferred to be alone. It had been rather difficult to ward the girls off. A "sorry girls, I'm gay," had finally worked. Kiba sighs. "What types of dogs are you looking most forward to breeding?" Sasuke feels the need to talk as a way to say something of a thank-you for their pseudo-friendship these four years. Kiba grins and nods. He understands. "Pekingese. They are a toy breed, small dogs. Fluffy and long-haired. Originally bred as Chinese guard dogs, they bark in deep, loud voices obnoxiously at everything. They're lap dogs but also trained to sit on their master's feet, which explains their long hair."  
"So they are royal foot-warmers," Sasuke muses. Kiba laughs and agrees. "I like pugs too. They have strong jaws and love a good game of tug-of-war. They're courageous to the point of stupidity. Pugs like to cuddle…" Sasuke lets Kiba continue explaining about the toy breed, trying not to remember anything.  
Nothing of his sophomore year. Nothing of what he and Naruto did, how Naruto had made him feel.

"I'm still bored!"  
"So let's do something."  
"Like what?"  
"Sing," Sai declares sarcastically.  
"Yes, we shall let melodious notes rise from our throats to the sky!" cries Lee, standing up suddenly. This time, no one cares about his over-enthusiastic actions. In fact, they appear to be contagious. Sasuke stands along with everyone else. They arrange into a cluster. Sai rolls his eyes, but stands between Hinata and Gaara, who scowls at him. Sasuke stands between Kiba and Tenten. "How about 'Gay Boyfriend?'" Kiba suggests. Laughter and cheers ring through the gym at mention of the Ukes of Hazzard song. Sasuke had typed the lyrics and passed out handouts of the lyrics on April Fool's eve in their sophomore year. They had all sung it to their teachers except for Naruto. They had been too shy. Now, they arrange much like a choir—tallest in back, shortest in front—towards the double doors that are the gym entrance. They sing notes to get into tune and physical exercises to stay energized. They finally arrange into couples in staggered rows.

Tsunade enters the gym and they begin singing to her. She lets them, laughing. "One, two, ready go!" Temari and Tenten chant. Sakura and Ino continue the song. "I'm tired of boys who cheat on me and tell me lies. The one I love will never stray. When he sees other girls, he looks away," and they smile at Sasuke.

He smirks. Everyone knows they no longer have crushes on Sasuke, so they are free to joke. "And if he never kisses me, well that's all right," Hinata, Choji and Sai harmonize, smiling. Each of the students grin and sing the chorus. Tsunade is laughing, her face flushed. The students amuse her. "Gay boyfriend, gay boyfriend. I really don't care that you're queer. Gay boyfriend, gay boyfriend. I never feel lonely when you are near." Gaara's and Lee's voices blend as they sing, "It'll be a great romance. We'll go shopping and buy tight pants. You don't care how big my ass is, just how fabulous my dress is." Kiba and Shino chant, "One, two, ready go!" Shika and Neji smile slightly as notes pour from their mouths.

"You cry at movies on our dates. Romantic comedies sure are great. But when you're sad I'll dry your tears. 'Cause I'll always think you're fierce." The doors open slowly. Tsunade is still laughing at the eighteen-year-olds singing to the doors. Naruto walks in as Sasuke sings the last verse before the ending chorus. "I like cigarettes, that's no gag," Sasuke's and Naruto's gazes lock. Sasuke sings to him. "But you'll always be my favorite fag. You'll always be my favorite fag." His voice carries the notes well. "You'll always be my favorite fag." Naruto's eyes widen as Sasuke outs him in song. The fermata lasts for two measures. The eighteen-year-olds sing the final verse, the chorus again and fade.  
Naruto has kept his promise.  
He has come back to speak at their graduation.  
He is back.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke wants to slump back in his seat but he has the will not to. Student after student has graduated. There are five who need to walk across the stage still. Naruto is a powerful speaker. It figures, considering that when he taught at KHS he was a speech teacher for the freshman and some of the sophomores. For the other sophomores, the ones who took advanced classes, he was an English teacher. He was Sasuke's English teacher. Sasuke had a relationship with his English teacher. He smirks and thinks to himself, always the English teacher. That or no one's willing to admit otherwise. I loved my English teacher in an unhealthy way.  
I still do.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Sasuke stands up, posture stiff and perfect. He marches across the stage. His heart slams in his chest, trying to seemingly become free of his ribcage. When Naruto was giving the speech, Sasuke felt as though he had risen out of his body and he didn't focus on what Naruto had said. He'd been trying to grasp the concept that Naruto had kept his promise…returned.

He knew Naruto was watching his every step across the stage. He goes through the shaking-of-hands and the cameras flashing. Gaara moves to allow Sasuke to stand next to him. Everyone clutches their blank-paper scrolls in their hands. The real diplomas will be sent via snail mail. Cheers erupt—everyone's graduated and their families are happy. The seniors are glad to be done with school, to get a taste of the real world now. Each student whisks off her or his cap and tosses it into the air. Lee, being Lee, tries to use his head to re-catch his cap. Gaara shoves him and he squawks until Gaara plunks the black square back onto Lee's head. Lee smiles and hugs Gaara, whose eyes widen but he hugs Lee back. Sasuke ignores Lee's blathering about how they will now explore their final years of youth before entering the summertime of adulthood. He walks instead over to Kakashi and Iruka.

"Hey, Dad?" He addresses them both by this name because he knows one or both will answer. "Yes?" Kakashi has his arm around Iruka's shoulder. Both men are proud parents indeed, and it shows on their faces. "There's…someone I need to talk to before we go."  
"Take your time, Sasuke," Iruka tells his son. Sasuke nods, and after handing Iruka the cap, gown, and blank paper, weaves his way through the crowd.

He had trouble deciding what to wear tonight. When Naruto was still teaching, Sasuke told him he'd dress like a tramp and dance across the stage to get the diploma. Naruto had smiled. They both knew Sasuke had been joking. Sasuke had spent awhile deliberating what to wear. A sweatshirt and jeans, the same he wore when Naruto taught? No. Dress like a tramp? Um no. He knew Naruto would be looking at him, and he wanted to—hn. His hand had brushed the dress shirt hanging in the closet, the one he hated. The slacks he hated were on the same hanger. Iruka had bought the outfit for Sasuke's eighth-grade graduation. Sasuke wears it to weddings, funerals, and now, his graduation. It is a good formal outfit, but it also fits as a graduation outfit. He'd gotten the idea from a book.

Students are surrounding Naruto in a gaggle. Sasuke thinks of them as a group of geese because they are squawking and honking—not literally, but figuratively. Naruto smiles and talks to each of them, just as he had two years ago. "Uzumaki!" the boys shout. "We missed you, man!" Naruto doesn't mind being addressed by his last name. The girls squeal at him how good it is that he's back and address him by his proper title. Naruto makes eye contact with Sasuke multiple times as he addresses the students, just as he did two years ago. Every emotion shoots through Sasuke's body and he finally lets the memories flow through his mind.

Sasuke carefully pulled the classroom door shut behind him. "Hey." He turned and saw his English teacher. "Hi." The teacher didn't look a day over sixteen! "Weren't you the one who did that thing at the Konoha library this summer?" Blond spiky hair, bright gray eyes that, when widened, would later prove to be bright, bright blue. "No." Sasuke headed for a seat in the front row, where he wanted to sit. "The creative writing thing," the man insisted. "No. I do a lot of creative writing, but not that." He placed his backpack on the side of his chair and removed his binder from his backpack. The teacher and the student were silent until the other students streamed into the room. Then, Sasuke learned that the young teacher's name was Uzumaki Naruto.

That had been Naruto's first flirting attempt. The first day of class. He'd had a crush on Sasuke ever since first looking at him! Sasuke had returned the crush less than a month later. He had created excuses to be closer to Naruto—help on poetry, help on homework, and finally, to get to know him.

"Where's your accent from? Jersey?" Naruto had smiled. "Philly."  
"So why'd you move here?"  
"It's more open-minded and I've always wanted to teach in Asia." Konoha High School's teachers taught in English most of the time.

"I hope it snows soon!" Sakura squealed. It was before the winter holidays. Naruto heard her and smiled. "Hey guys, do you want to do a snow dance?" Everyone agreed eagerly. "Okay, everyone be really quiet," Naruto had smiled and Sasuke was again reminded of a sixteen-year-old. "Put your hands on the desks. Now drum softly on the desks." Soft drumming noises filled the air. "Now spread your fingers." The noises changed slightly. "Turn your hands over…" Sasuke's knuckles ached suddenly. "Now end." They did. "Oh, that was so cool!" Ino smiled. "Will it work?" That night, there was a blizzard.

"How did you know I am Wiccan?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto shrugged. "I had a lot of friends back in Pennsylvania who were." Of course. Sasuke knew now where Naruto had lived—in one of the densest Wiccan/Pagan cities ever. "Are you Pagan?"  
"No, I'm an atheist. So what is your guys' creation legend?" Definitely from Philly.  
It's inappropriate to talk about religion in schools, and to ask a teacher their religion.

They talked about books and poetry a lot. Sasuke would walk with Naruto to the school parking lot, then walk home. Once, Iruka picked him up from school. Sasuke talked about Naruto. "Sasuke…are you having some type of weird relationship with your teacher?" Iruka had stopped at a stoplight and was searching his son's facial reflection in the review mirror. "N-no…" Sasuke stammered. He sure as hell wanted to. They did, but not until later.

Students often crowded Naruto's classroom after school. He was the yearbook director. Students who participated in making the yearbooks often stopped to talk to him about it. He was an English teacher who taught two levels and a speech teacher. Students wanted his help with their homework for class. Sasuke would, on occasions that there were other students in the room, wait patiently to talk to Naruto alone. He would do homework for other classes as he waited. Naruto always smiled at Sasuke before speaking. They would talk about their personal lives often. Naruto had grown up in America. He was very excited to be teaching in Japan, and had been doing so for two years. He, like Sasuke, had done some acting in high school. Sasuke had given up acting quickly because his grades had slipped.

It was not only the after-school talks that were informal. The e-mails they exchanged also quickly became informal. Sasuke had simply typed, 'I am remembering an ex-boyfriend. I may need to step outside of class on occasion,' and Naruto had responded with an incredibly long, compassionate e-mail. It's inappropriate to do that. Sasuke raised his hand. Naruto walked over to his desk. "Why can't I call you Naruto?" Sasuke hissed. "We're familiar with each other!" The class went dead silent but Sasuke failed to notice. "There has to be an element of respect," Naruto was paler than usual, and Sasuke read the subtext. We can't let anyone know.

They had talked about a sexual scene in a book. Sasuke had pointed out that sex was a vulnerable situation. Naruto had agreed, and then they had both attended to other tasks. Sasuke remembers how Naruto had looked at him during that conversation: I want you but I can't have you and I bet you're having sex with someone else.  
The school had been taking their exams and Sasuke had been assigned to take his exams in Naruto's classroom. During the break, Naruto had wandered over to Sasuke's seating area and they had begun to converse. The twenty other students in the room were holding several different conversations, so no one heard them. Somehow, the conversation turned to smoking. Sasuke lied to sound cool and said he smoked. Naruto grinned, believing him. "You know, when you say things like that I'm going to have to tell the administrators." Sasuke ignored that. "Do you smoke?" he asked his teacher. "Yeah, socially." Naruto had never told anyone that Sasuke smoked. Legally he was supposed to. He hadn't.

Sasuke was often paired with Gaara for class activities. It could be said that the two were friends. Together, they worked efficiently and often finished assignments before their deadlines. They laughed at the same jokes, were annoyed by similar things and agreed that Naruto was their favorite teacher. Sasuke knew Gaara liked Lee and Gaara knew Sasuke liked Naruto. They kept quiet about such things but Sasuke knew Lee was smitten with Gaara. Sasuke supposed it was fairly obvious that Naruto returned Sasuke's obsession. "Hey Uchiha, go tell Sensei we're not done with the assignment," Gaara hissed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but walked to Naruto's desk anyway. He and Gaara had completed the assignment the day before in their history class, in which they were often made partners. "Ano…Sensei?" Naruto looked up, smiling. "Hai, Sasuke."  
"Gaara and I haven't finished the character analysis."  
"Oh, that's all right," Naruto responded cheerfully. "How far do you need the deadline pushed back?" Sasuke faltered. "A day?"  
"That's fine, sure."  
"Sensei," Sakura walked up to Naruto's desk. "Ino and I haven't finished the character—"  
"Then I have no choice but to fail you on the project," Naruto interrupted, frowning. Sakura fled back to her desk. Slightly shaken, Sasuke walked back to a smirking Gaara. The redhead calmly whispered, "If that isn't evidence enough, tomorrow, tell him you don't like formal wear."

So Sasuke did. Naruto began to wear jeans and simple sweaters instead of the suits. His businesslike shoes were replaced with Converse sneakers. His hair was hidden underneath a black beanie. Sasuke's mouth watered. Naruto looked like a student. And hot. Gaara was quite amused and Sasuke didn't know how to feel about it. When he was at home he couldn't help but analyze everything to death, knowing the answer all along. He listened to Evanescence every day four hours, the Fallen album's songs "My Last Breath" and "Taking Over Me" playing on his stereo most. Sasuke knew how much information Naruto had at his disposal about Sasuke—his phone number, e-mail address, parent's full names, work and home phone numbers and e-mail addresses, his home address, his discipline record, transcripts from previous years, mental health papers, physical health papers…so much. Sasuke wondered what Naruto did with all the information. He decided, one night after listening to Amy Lee's voice over again, to find out information about Naruto. After three weeks, he had found out the meaning and ethnicity of Naruto's surname and Naruto's current home address and telephone number. He didn't know what to do with the information but it made him feel better to have it.  
He knew Naruto had taken Sai out to dinner one night very early in the school year. In the first week. Sai had blurted it out in class and Sasuke had felt hot pangs of envy course through his blood. Later he realized that Naruto did indeed have a thing for girly-looking sixteen-year-old boys with black hair. Sai and Naruto had only gone for dinner, not had sex. Sasuke was consoled by this.

Iruka's sister was getting married, and the wedding was shortly after Sasuke's classes ended. He would have to wear the ugly eighth-grade graduation outfit to school. Inwardly he groaned. He was more moody than usual as he stalked into his last class of the day, Naruto's class. Sasuke had plunked himself down next to Gaara and stared moodily at nothing. Class was rather boring. Sasuke stood to leave as the bell rang. "Hey Sasuke, nice outfit," Naruto smiled. "I'm looking forward to dressing like I normally do again on Monday," Sasuke grumbled, inwardly pleased at how Naruto was checking him out, then outright staring at his ass. Sasuke all of the sudden didn't think the outfit was so ugly anymore.

Naruto began initiating conversations to get Sasuke to stay after class. "Sasuke, do you realize how well you're doing in here?" Sasuke paused, his hand on the door handle. "You've got an A," Naruto informed him. Sasuke walked over to Naruto's desk.  
"So? I'm sure a bunch of people in here do, too."  
"No, most of them have all F's," Naruto frowned. "Oh. They should try harder. You're a good teacher." Talk about a LAME come-on! Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Sasuke."

The next day, Sasuke attempted another (LAME!) come-on before class started. "Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Naruto became flustered at that and tried not to show it. "I guess I could, uh, should figure out how to turn down the heat in here…I'll talk to the administrator."

Sasuke decided not to stay after class that day, or the next, to see what effect it had on Naruto. "Sasuke, see me after class," Naruto demanded five minutes into the class. "Okay," Sasuke chirped. Naruto cringed and Sasuke smirked. After class, Sasuke approached Naruto's desk. "Sasuke, you're a great student and I value you—uh, your input to the class. You've got to stop this, though." Sasuke was baffled. Naruto took a deep breath. They were alone in the room. "Students in my other classes are beginning to ask questions about us. The faculty is whispering about us. My job is on the line, Sasuke, because everyone thinks we're—" Sasuke interrupted him. "So let's give them something to talk about, Sensei. We've been flirting with each other for four months now." Sasuke leaned forward and kissed Naruto. Naruto kissed Sasuke passionately in response.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Evanescence nor the rights to their songs mentioned in this chapter, nor am I making any profit from mention the artist or their songs.

Many months after their relationship had turned sexual, Sasuke found out about Melissa, Naruto's girlfriend whom he'd been dating for a couple of years. Neji had raised his hand and asked, "Not meaning to pry into your personal life, but are you breaking up with your girlfriend when you move back?" Naruto had smiled. "We're moving together." The class exploded. "Wow, that's commitment!"  
"Are you getting married?"  
"Are you going to have a baby?"  
"It is wonderful to see you delving into the wondrous experience of true love," Lee had tears in his eyes.

Sasuke felt like strangling Naruto. He kept his face blank but underneath the surface he was seething, loathing, screaming, crying, raging, WHY. He turned to Gaara, who saw the hurt he was trying to hide. "She's one of those quiet, mousy blond types." Gaara, to anyone else, would appear as though he did not care. Sasuke knew Gaara understood his pain and was concerned. He nodded and looked away. The bell rang.

Sasuke listened to Evanescence for many more hours than usual. He was more subdued, more moody. Kakashi and Iruka figured it was because of school stress and Sasuke did not bother to correct them. How could Naruto have cheated on his girlfriend Melissa with a sixteen-year-old boy? Why had Sasuke loved him? Sasuke had been a distraction for Naruto before Naruto settled down, Sasuke was sure. Their relationship had lasted over a year and meant nothing to Naruto. The sex was a mere diversion. To say Sasuke was hurt would be an understatement. But he tucked it neatly inside of himself, giving Naruto a hug and wishing him luck on the final day of Sasuke's sophomore year classes.

Two years passed. Sasuke thought of Naruto every single day, saw his face on so many blond men. Sasuke cried sometimes. He searched on the Internet for Naruto. He stopped. He dreamt every night of Naruto, thought about him every single day. He remembered things Naruto had said in classes and felt sick when his teachers now said similar things. Homework, in the beginning, was difficult. Sasuke wrote for Naruto and it was so painful. Then he lost all feeling and wrote mechanically. In his junior year he got a 2.8 GPA, down twelve points from his usual 4.0. In his senior year, he graduated with a 3.7, better but the evidence was still there—Sasuke's grades slipped because he missed Naruto. He clung to the memory of his first with a death grip, swearing some nights tearfully that he would not have sex ever again if this is what happened.

Sasuke became consumed with a need to find Naruto, to get him back. He prayed that Naruto might be feeling the same obsession, might be doing the same things. It took awhile for Sasuke to admit that he was obsessed and had always been. The dozens of poems were a clue, according to Neji. The constant staring at him in class had been another. Gaara pointed out that Sasuke talked about Naruto to any potential date, which made them feel inferior. Sasuke never said "my English teacher" but actually spoke of Naruto as an ex-boyfriend. He hadn't slept with anyone since Naruto and still loved him. He refused to admit this. He couldn't tell Naruto's story without crying, and it made him furious. He was ashamed. Gaara and Neji were always silent. They listened silently as he cried or bitched. They offered no advice, just listened. That was what Sasuke needed. As a thank-you, he still did the things they did together. The three of them still hung out together. They drank tea mixed with sake late at night at Neji's and ate fugu at Gaara's, careful to never get caught drinking the alcohol or eating poisonous blowfish. Sometimes they went to Tokyo late weekend nights and ate frog. Mostly they ate sashimi at malls, staying within the confines of social norms. Gaara and Sasuke teased Neji sometimes, half-joking that he should ask Shikamaru out. He always sneered at them for this but blushed. He dared not ask the question, do you think he'd say yes. They all were friends. Normal teenagers with normal lives. Except one of them had slept with their English teacher on a regular basis. And now that one is obsessed—no, just—fixated on the memory of his past. Sasuke isn't doing anything wrong. No. This isn't wrong.

The obsession and stalking blossomed. No, it's not stalking or obsession. Nothing Sasuke is doing is wrong. Whenever he begins to think those thoughts he quickly clears them away and continues his methods of finding Naruto and bringing him back into his life. The ways he found his information was not wrong. It was—covert. It was good of him to find the information. He was helping himself. Saving himself. Sasuke was being normal. Everything was fine. He was lying to himself. He knew what he was doing wasn't within the confines of the law. It was common in America to run background checks on your romantic partner, but not as in-depth as what Sasuke found. Japan didn't make this information widely available to the public either, from what Sasuke inferred. No one had ever said, do this and find stuff out about the person you're sleeping with. Sasuke wondered if he was breaking into secret documents or something. Only a little bit, though. He was consumed with finding out everything else he didn't know about Naruto. The things Naruto had never told him about—illegal ownership of firearms, for example. Regulations for firearms here were very strict.

Sasuke was using the Internet for all this. There were many Internet sites that proved valuable, one in particular. Sasuke knew from other sites that Naruto had moved a lot, but this site had all the postal addresses in it in one place. Every single place Naruto had moved, the exact address was there. The dates of moving in and out of each place were all there. Naruto's age, first name, last name, and middle initial--middle name were there. His alias was there too. His criminal record. A list of his relatives.

Naruto had changed his name?! Yes, to Naruto Uzumaki. Originally it had been a Russian name. Naruto's birth name was a Russian name, Ivan Grigorovich Christiansen. John son of Gregory Christiansen was the literal translation to English, a very common name in Russian. He'd changed it to Tempest (or Fishcake) Spiral. Sasuke wondered why, and was quite shaken about the name change. It usually meant someone was hiding something. Given that Naruto had moved twenty-three times in three years before moving to Japan and then back to his hometown in America, Sasuke was sure Naruto was hiding a lot of things. Perhaps this was a pattern—Naruto taught at a school, had sex with girly-looking sixteen-year-old boys with black hair and immediately moved once the school year ended. But he'd taught at KHS for three years…

Sasuke's stomach felt heavy. He probably had not been Naruto's only fucktoy. He looked again at the places Naruto had moved.

Fredonia, New York, six times in one year.  
Seattle, Washington, three times over six months.  
Colmar, Pennsylvania, three times in six months.  
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was there now.  
Konoha, Japan, once.  
Kearny, New Jersey, once for two months. He'd moved to Japan afterward.  
Five times in ten months around certain cities of Denmark, where ephebophilia prostitution was legal.

No, not Naruto's only fucktoy. But what if? Sasuke's mind had danced with possibilities and memories. The memories soon won over.

Naruto's classroom had been rather crowded on a spring Friday after classes had ended. Naruto had made eye contact with him, as usual, as he spoke with other students. There had been more students than usual. Sasuke remembered he was supposed to be home right after classes that day and hopped off the desk he'd been sitting on.  
"I'm going to go—"  
"Wait, don't go! I mean, go if you must, uh…" Naruto's eyes had widened, turning the brightest blue. It was for perhaps a millisecond and then he had collected himself and told Sasuke to go if he had to. Sasuke had walked home, thinking deeply about what had happened.

There was a hailstorm outside. Bullets of solid grey ice roared on the roof. Thunder boomed overhead. Sasuke asked Naruto if he could go outside into the storm and pray. "Do what you feel you need to do," Naruto responded with a nod. It was the middle of class and Naruto had never let anyone go outside of class in the middle. Sasuke did and prayed. After he had finished, he turned to go back into the classroom and glanced at one of the windows. Naruto was there, gazing at him. Sasuke had a feeling Naruto had been watching him the entire time.

Sasuke approached Naruto's desk and asked if he could meditate. Naruto gave him permission, so Sasuke plunked himself down on the floor, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Naruto's blue eyes were gazing at him. Naruto quickly looked away.

Two years after that, what was now about a month ago, Sasuke had found out more about how Naruto was doing, through the grapevine. Tsunade had summoned Sasuke to her office. Dread and sadness overtook the student. "Are my dads okay?" Sasuke's voice was calm as usual, but his knees shook. Tsunade smiled a sad smile. "Sasuke, everyone you love is alive and well, I promise. That's actually what I called you down here to talk about, one person in particular." Sasuke searched her face. The sad smile disappeared as she spoke. "Naruto earned his Master's degree in these two years and he is now attending a Russian institute for advanced language acquisition. He and his girlfriend also just had a baby. They're not married but they're getting married."  
"So their child's a bastard," Sasuke stated, keeping his face blank. Tsunade nodded.

"If you need to talk, your counselor is here. And Tanase Sachi has Naruto's e-mail address." Sachi was Sasuke's current English teacher. She was slightly over four-and-a-half feet tall, with dark brown hair, an olive complexion and thick-framed glasses. Many students admired her. Sasuke enjoyed her classes.  
"Ano…Sensei?"  
"Hai, Uchiha."  
"Ano…ano…may I have Uzumaki Naruto's e-mail address?"  
She wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "If he doesn't contact you, tell me and I'll get him to."  
"Thank you very much, Sensei," Sasuke bowed and smiled.

An hour later his stomach began hurting. He thought little of it until a few minutes later he was leaning over a lavatory sink vomiting. The grief and stress had begun. Two years' worth of repressed emotions slammed into him full-force. Sasuke was stunned, humiliated and furious about the fact that he was vomiting. He rinsed the sink and his mouth out, washed his face and walked out of the lavatory, when Hinata ran up to him. "Uchiha, you—you need t-to s-see your guide—guidance counsel—counselor." Her stammer became more pronounced when she was excited, nervous, or giving an important message. Her stare was blank and her face was stoic, but Sasuke felt her concern. Sasuke was aware that Hinata had always been afraid of him, so he greatly appreciated her talking to him and walking with him to the counselor's office. He did not feel the need to say so but communicated it with an attempted smile. Hinata understood. She sat near the counselor and Sasuke rose an eyebrow when it registered in his mind that she would be helping him with the process of his grief. She was compassionate and empathetic. That was probably why she had been chosen to help him. Or something along those lines. The counselor and the female student with the blank stare waited for the male student with the stoic expression to tell his story.

Tears gathered in his throat and he forced his face to stay blank. His stomach ached. "I just found out that Naruto and his girlfriend had a baby," Sasuke's voice cracked sharply and he clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sobs rising. Despite his efforts, a few tears streamed down his face. The counselor urged Sasuke to tell her and Hinata everything, to cry. Sasuke was so ashamed.

They coaxed and pleaded, cajoled and attempted to bribe Sasuke in order for him to talk. After quite a bit of polite but forceful prodding, the story began to pour out. It soon was a waterfall. Indignation and hurt made Sasuke's voice inflection switch between extremes—a low growl, yelling, a half-squeal. His body language and facial expression became withdrawn, then expressive. He switched back and forth. Hinata and the counselor listened without judging Sasuke. He told them not to do anything. Hinata agreed. "Sensei's act—actions would be very difficult to have a case against since Sasuke was at the l-legal age of consent." Her stammer worsened when she worried. "It wasn't rape," Sasuke mumbled. "He entered into an improper relationship with a minor!" the counselor exploded. Hinata jumped and Sasuke flinched, for the counselor had sat quietly for the entire time. "He was your first, knew what he was doing and took advantage of you!" Sasuke's and Hinata's faces were expressionless as the counselor shouted. "He'd better not come back here." Hinata quietly spoke, telling the counselor what she didn't want to know and what Sasuke wanted to hear. "He told Lee he'd come back to speak at our graduation. He told Temari he was resigning from teaching to get his Master's. He told many other students he was moving back to America, to Philadelphia. He told Neji he had a girlfriend." He had told everyone everything except for Sasuke, whom he had told nothing.

Sasuke had cried a few tears and forced the rest down. His stomach hurt. He rushed out of the room, down the hall into the nearest lavatory and leaned over the sink. No vomit. He walked back. "When I first found out, I threw up."  
"That is grief," Hinata explained.  
"My stomach hurts. It has been."  
"Again, that is grief. You will go through the five stages, then your stomach will stop hurting." Sasuke knew this. "The stages occur in any order," he recited the textbook's passage from memory. "However, the stages are always the same and the final one is always acceptance. The stages can be as quick as ten minutes or two years, possibly more. To try and force oneself through the stages is unhealthy and ineffective. Strong social networks are vital for a grieving person, as are comfort foods such as miso or tea." Hinata nods, remembering the words from the textbook.

"What has been the order of your stages so far, Sasuke?" the counselor spoke again. "Indignation, obsession, stalking, stealing my dad's credit card to buy the ability to look at Naruto's criminal record and other things of his online."  
"I'd roll my eyes if you hadn't confessed to a crime."  
Sasuke went quiet at that.  
"I won't turn you in."  
Sasuke perked up.  
"It would be good to know your stages as you go through them, Sasuke," Hinata politely requested. Sasuke nodded. The bell rang. "It would be good to keep a journal."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Evanescence nor the rights to their songs mentioned in this chapter, nor am I making any profit from mention the artist or their songs.

Many months after their relationship had turned sexual, Sasuke found out about Melissa, Naruto's girlfriend whom he'd been dating for a couple of years. Neji had raised his hand and asked, "Not meaning to pry into your personal life, but are you breaking up with your girlfriend when you move back?" Naruto had smiled. "We're moving together." The class exploded. "Wow, that's commitment!"  
"Are you getting married?"  
"Are you going to have a baby?"  
"It is wonderful to see you delving into the wondrous experience of true love," Lee had tears in his eyes.

Sasuke felt like strangling Naruto. He kept his face blank but underneath the surface he was seething, loathing, screaming, crying, raging, WHY. He turned to Gaara, who saw the hurt he was trying to hide. "She's one of those quiet, mousy blond types." Gaara, to anyone else, would appear as though he did not care. Sasuke knew Gaara understood his pain and was concerned. He nodded and looked away. The bell rang.

Sasuke listened to Evanescence for many more hours than usual. He was more subdued, more moody. Kakashi and Iruka figured it was because of school stress and Sasuke did not bother to correct them. How could Naruto have cheated on his girlfriend Melissa with a sixteen-year-old boy? Why had Sasuke loved him? Sasuke had been a distraction for Naruto before Naruto settled down, Sasuke was sure. Their relationship had lasted over a year and meant nothing to Naruto. The sex was a mere diversion. To say Sasuke was hurt would be an understatement. But he tucked it neatly inside of himself, giving Naruto a hug and wishing him luck on the final day of Sasuke's sophomore year classes.

Two years passed. Sasuke thought of Naruto every single day, saw his face on so many blond men. Sasuke cried sometimes. He searched on the Internet for Naruto. He stopped. He dreamt every night of Naruto, thought about him every single day. He remembered things Naruto had said in classes and felt sick when his teachers now said similar things. Homework, in the beginning, was difficult. Sasuke wrote for Naruto and it was so painful. Then he lost all feeling and wrote mechanically. In his junior year he got a 2.8 GPA, down twelve points from his usual 4.0. In his senior year, he graduated with a 3.7, better but the evidence was still there—Sasuke's grades slipped because he missed Naruto. He clung to the memory of his first with a death grip, swearing some nights tearfully that he would not have sex ever again if this is what happened.

Sasuke became consumed with a need to find Naruto, to get him back. He prayed that Naruto might be feeling the same obsession, might be doing the same things. It took awhile for Sasuke to admit that he was obsessed and had always been. The dozens of poems were a clue, according to Neji. The constant staring at him in class had been another. Gaara pointed out that Sasuke talked about Naruto to any potential date, which made them feel inferior. Sasuke never said "my English teacher" but actually spoke of Naruto as an ex-boyfriend. He hadn't slept with anyone since Naruto and still loved him. He refused to admit this. He couldn't tell Naruto's story without crying, and it made him furious. He was ashamed. Gaara and Neji were always silent. They listened silently as he cried or bitched. They offered no advice, just listened. That was what Sasuke needed. As a thank-you, he still did the things they did together. The three of them still hung out together. They drank tea mixed with sake late at night at Neji's and ate fugu at Gaara's, careful to never get caught drinking the alcohol or eating poisonous blowfish. Sometimes they went to Tokyo late weekend nights and ate frog. Mostly they ate sashimi at malls, staying within the confines of social norms. Gaara and Sasuke teased Neji sometimes, half-joking that he should ask Shikamaru out. He always sneered at them for this but blushed. He dared not ask the question, do you think he'd say yes. They all were friends. Normal teenagers with normal lives. Except one of them had slept with their English teacher on a regular basis. And now that one is obsessed—no, just—fixated on the memory of his past. Sasuke isn't doing anything wrong. No. This isn't wrong.

The obsession and stalking blossomed. No, it's not stalking or obsession. Nothing Sasuke is doing is wrong. Whenever he begins to think those thoughts he quickly clears them away and continues his methods of finding Naruto and bringing him back into his life. The ways he found his information was not wrong. It was—covert. It was good of him to find the information. He was helping himself. Saving himself. Sasuke was being normal. Everything was fine. He was lying to himself. He knew what he was doing wasn't within the confines of the law. It was common in America to run background checks on your romantic partner, but not as in-depth as what Sasuke found. Japan didn't make this information widely available to the public either, from what Sasuke inferred. No one had ever said, do this and find stuff out about the person you're sleeping with. Sasuke wondered if he was breaking into secret documents or something. Only a little bit, though. He was consumed with finding out everything else he didn't know about Naruto. The things Naruto had never told him about—illegal ownership of firearms, for example. Regulations for firearms here were very strict.

Sasuke was using the Internet for all this. There were many Internet sites that proved valuable, one in particular. Sasuke knew from other sites that Naruto had moved a lot, but this site had all the postal addresses in it in one place. Every single place Naruto had moved, the exact address was there. The dates of moving in and out of each place were all there. Naruto's age, first name, last name, and middle initial--middle name were there. His alias was there too. His criminal record. A list of his relatives.

Naruto had changed his name?! Yes, to Naruto Uzumaki. Originally it had been a Russian name. Naruto's birth name was a Russian name, Ivan Grigorovich Christiansen. John son of Gregory Christiansen was the literal translation to English, a very common name in Russian. He'd changed it to Tempest (or Fishcake) Spiral. Sasuke wondered why, and was quite shaken about the name change. It usually meant someone was hiding something. Given that Naruto had moved twenty-three times in three years before moving to Japan and then back to his hometown in America, Sasuke was sure Naruto was hiding a lot of things. Perhaps this was a pattern—Naruto taught at a school, had sex with girly-looking sixteen-year-old boys with black hair and immediately moved once the school year ended. But he'd taught at KHS for three years…

Sasuke's stomach felt heavy. He probably had not been Naruto's only fucktoy. He looked again at the places Naruto had moved.

Fredonia, New York, six times in one year.  
Seattle, Washington, three times over six months.  
Colmar, Pennsylvania, three times in six months.  
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was there now.  
Konoha, Japan, once.  
Kearny, New Jersey, once for two months. He'd moved to Japan afterward.  
Five times in ten months around certain cities of Denmark, where ephebophilia prostitution was legal.

No, not Naruto's only fucktoy. But what if? Sasuke's mind had danced with possibilities and memories. The memories soon won over.

Naruto's classroom had been rather crowded on a spring Friday after classes had ended. Naruto had made eye contact with him, as usual, as he spoke with other students. There had been more students than usual. Sasuke remembered he was supposed to be home right after classes that day and hopped off the desk he'd been sitting on.  
"I'm going to go—"  
"Wait, don't go! I mean, go if you must, uh…" Naruto's eyes had widened, turning the brightest blue. It was for perhaps a millisecond and then he had collected himself and told Sasuke to go if he had to. Sasuke had walked home, thinking deeply about what had happened.

There was a hailstorm outside. Bullets of solid grey ice roared on the roof. Thunder boomed overhead. Sasuke asked Naruto if he could go outside into the storm and pray. "Do what you feel you need to do," Naruto responded with a nod. It was the middle of class and Naruto had never let anyone go outside of class in the middle. Sasuke did and prayed. After he had finished, he turned to go back into the classroom and glanced at one of the windows. Naruto was there, gazing at him. Sasuke had a feeling Naruto had been watching him the entire time.

Sasuke approached Naruto's desk and asked if he could meditate. Naruto gave him permission, so Sasuke plunked himself down on the floor, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Naruto's blue eyes were gazing at him. Naruto quickly looked away.

Two years after that, what was now about a month ago, Sasuke had found out more about how Naruto was doing, through the grapevine. Tsunade had summoned Sasuke to her office. Dread and sadness overtook the student. "Are my dads okay?" Sasuke's voice was calm as usual, but his knees shook. Tsunade smiled a sad smile. "Sasuke, everyone you love is alive and well, I promise. That's actually what I called you down here to talk about, one person in particular." Sasuke searched her face. The sad smile disappeared as she spoke. "Naruto earned his Master's degree in these two years and he is now attending a Russian institute for advanced language acquisition. He and his girlfriend also just had a baby. They're not married but they're getting married."  
"So their child's a bastard," Sasuke stated, keeping his face blank. Tsunade nodded.

"If you need to talk, your counselor is here. And Tanase Sachi has Naruto's e-mail address." Sachi was Sasuke's current English teacher. She was slightly over four-and-a-half feet tall, with dark brown hair, an olive complexion and thick-framed glasses. Many students admired her. Sasuke enjoyed her classes.  
"Ano…Sensei?"  
"Hai, Uchiha."  
"Ano…ano…may I have Uzumaki Naruto's e-mail address?"  
She wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "If he doesn't contact you, tell me and I'll get him to."  
"Thank you very much, Sensei," Sasuke bowed and smiled.

An hour later his stomach began hurting. He thought little of it until a few minutes later he was leaning over a lavatory sink vomiting. The grief and stress had begun. Two years' worth of repressed emotions slammed into him full-force. Sasuke was stunned, humiliated and furious about the fact that he was vomiting. He rinsed the sink and his mouth out, washed his face and walked out of the lavatory, when Hinata ran up to him. "Uchiha, you—you need t-to s-see your guide—guidance counsel—counselor." Her stammer became more pronounced when she was excited, nervous, or giving an important message. Her stare was blank and her face was stoic, but Sasuke felt her concern. Sasuke was aware that Hinata had always been afraid of him, so he greatly appreciated her talking to him and walking with him to the counselor's office. He did not feel the need to say so but communicated it with an attempted smile. Hinata understood. She sat near the counselor and Sasuke rose an eyebrow when it registered in his mind that she would be helping him with the process of his grief. She was compassionate and empathetic. That was probably why she had been chosen to help him. Or something along those lines. The counselor and the female student with the blank stare waited for the male student with the stoic expression to tell his story.

Tears gathered in his throat and he forced his face to stay blank. His stomach ached. "I just found out that Naruto and his girlfriend had a baby," Sasuke's voice cracked sharply and he clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sobs rising. Despite his efforts, a few tears streamed down his face. The counselor urged Sasuke to tell her and Hinata everything, to cry. Sasuke was so ashamed.

They coaxed and pleaded, cajoled and attempted to bribe Sasuke in order for him to talk. After quite a bit of polite but forceful prodding, the story began to pour out. It soon was a waterfall. Indignation and hurt made Sasuke's voice inflection switch between extremes—a low growl, yelling, a half-squeal. His body language and facial expression became withdrawn, then expressive. He switched back and forth. Hinata and the counselor listened without judging Sasuke. He told them not to do anything. Hinata agreed. "Sensei's act—actions would be very difficult to have a case against since Sasuke was at the l-legal age of consent." Her stammer worsened when she worried. "It wasn't rape," Sasuke mumbled. "He entered into an improper relationship with a minor!" the counselor exploded. Hinata jumped and Sasuke flinched, for the counselor had sat quietly for the entire time. "He was your first, knew what he was doing and took advantage of you!" Sasuke's and Hinata's faces were expressionless as the counselor shouted. "He'd better not come back here." Hinata quietly spoke, telling the counselor what she didn't want to know and what Sasuke wanted to hear. "He told Lee he'd come back to speak at our graduation. He told Temari he was resigning from teaching to get his Master's. He told many other students he was moving back to America, to Philadelphia. He told Neji he had a girlfriend." He had told everyone everything except for Sasuke, whom he had told nothing.

Sasuke had cried a few tears and forced the rest down. His stomach hurt. He rushed out of the room, down the hall into the nearest lavatory and leaned over the sink. No vomit. He walked back. "When I first found out, I threw up."  
"That is grief," Hinata explained.  
"My stomach hurts. It has been."  
"Again, that is grief. You will go through the five stages, then your stomach will stop hurting." Sasuke knew this. "The stages occur in any order," he recited the textbook's passage from memory. "However, the stages are always the same and the final one is always acceptance. The stages can be as quick as ten minutes or two years, possibly more. To try and force oneself through the stages is unhealthy and ineffective. Strong social networks are vital for a grieving person, as are comfort foods such as miso or tea." Hinata nods, remembering the words from the textbook.

"What has been the order of your stages so far, Sasuke?" the counselor spoke again. "Indignation, obsession, stalking, stealing my dad's credit card to buy the ability to look at Naruto's criminal record and other things of his online."  
"I'd roll my eyes if you hadn't confessed to a crime."  
Sasuke went quiet at that.  
"I won't turn you in."  
Sasuke perked up.  
"It would be good to know your stages as you go through them, Sasuke," Hinata politely requested. Sasuke nodded. The bell rang. "It would be good to keep a journal."


	5. Chapter 5

Sadness, two days

Finding out the event made me throw up. I cried slightly in front of Neji and Gaara. I bawled for hours when I got home. I didn't eat much. My stomach hurt. I felt sick. Memories. Second day, lethargy, irritability and loss of appetite. Memories.

Anger, one day

Ranting for three solid hours after one hour of being encouraged to do so by Lee. Lee listened. I am thankful, and I thanked him. He responded enthusiastically. Went home, threw things around, shouted and cursed. Iruka and Kakashi asked if I was male PMSing and we had miso and tea for dinner. Regained appetite with fervor.

Bargaining, one day

Decided that if Naruto speaks at graduation, I'll get over him. Cancelled that and wrote a long letter, telling myself it would provide closure. Disposed of letter and sulked.

Denial, two days

Nothing happened between Naruto and I. He wasn't on the down low. Nothing happened. We never had sex. Nothing happened. We were just a teacher and student, but if anyone wants me to say otherwise, I started everything. I started it by walking into class. If I hadn't, nothing would have happened. It's my fault. Nothing happened. I did everything. Blame me. Nothing happened between Naruto and I. I told Neji this in a tearful midnight phone call and we argued. I still am the one to blame. Naruto's criminal record listing him as a sex offender in three different countries is wrong.

Acceptance, one day

Graduation Eve, 5 AM

I have no place in Naruto's life.

I hope his baby is eaten by New York rats and his girlfriend leaves him. I will go on to college, have a life without Naruto. I will move on. We were once very solid presences in each other's lives. Now we have no part in each other's lives except our own memories, which we may or may not forget. Naruto meant a lot to me. I miss him very much. Part of me still wants revenge. I'm going to busy myself with other tasks, maybe a college search, so I can stop thinking about Naruto.

So I can get over him.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Evanescence nor Within Temptation. I do not own the rights to their songs mentioned herein, nor do I gain profit from mentioning such songs or artists.

The students have all pranced off to meet their loved ones, to thank them for attending the graduation. They have said proper goodbyes to Naruto. Sasuke feels like he is going to faint as he walks toward his ex-lover, his sophomore year English teacher. He keeps his face blank as usual. Just like old times. Naruto smiles. "Sasuke." Hearing his voice, seeing his body…Sasuke had been apprehensive of this moment for months. Thoughts fly through his mind. He gave it up to a sex offender. This sex-offender spent ten years total in maximum security prisons around the world because child molesters are loathed everywhere and prisoners act out such hatred. Naruto had originally a worse sentence but he was released for good behavior. Of course. The fifteen years probation was something Naruto breezed through because he became better at what he did, meaning he fled to countries with different sex laws. They stand close to one another.

"Naruto."  
Silence.  
"Why did you leave?"  
"Well, I wanted to get my Master's and the only place that offered it sufficiently was back in Philly, so my girlfriend and I—"  
"No." Sasuke's posture is stiff and rigid, his eyes cold and unforgiving. "Why did you leave?" Naruto shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. "Sasuke, we couldn't have kept it going. I would have been fired anyway."  
"And you would have gone back to jail." Sasuke spits out the words. Naruto's eyes widen from gray to blue. "I know everything about your past, Naruto. Even about what your mom did to you." Naruto flinches. "There's one thing I don't know, though. Something I've wondered since I found out about Melissa. Tell me the truth, Naruto. Our relationship lasted over a year. Was I ever more than a fucktoy. Was it even a relationship." Sasuke's voice is cave ice—beautiful, cold and scary, coming from a dark and dangerous place. It can hurt a person if it falls when it melts. It can hurt a person when it breaks, a stalactite, still frozen, cold and unforgiving.

Over these two years, Evanescence has been replaced with Within Temptation. "My Last Breath" and "Taking Over Me" have morphed into "Our Solemn Hour" and "Memories." Amy Lee's voice was raw with emotions Sasuke felt at the time. Sharon den Abel had the voice of a choirgirl, but the words she sang told everything. Sasuke likes both Evanescence and Within Temptation, but Within Temptation's songs hold more meaning for him now. The song "Memories" floats through his mind.

"Sasuke," Naruto looks dejected, guilty, lost. He sighs. "Meet me tomorrow morning in the school's parking lot and we'll go for a drive." Sasuke regards him icily. "What time?"  
"When's good for you?"  
The graduate smirks. "Three." Naruto's eyes look ready to pop from his skull. "Three o'clock in the morning?" Sasuke nods. Naruto bites his lip and runs a hand through his spiky blond hair. Nothing has changed…except that Naruto has a girlfriend, a kid, moved and it's two years later. He still looks, walks, talks and acts the same. "Okay. Three A.M., Konoha High School parking lot…" Naruto slips a mini-sharpie from his pocket. He grabs Sasuke's hand and scrawls something onto it. "I'll need a wakeup call." He kisses Sasuke quickly. "Go celebrate with your family, Sasuke," he whispers, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." Sasuke nods and looks at his hand.

"You brought your cell phone with you?"  
"Yeah. Call me when you need me." His eyes held a different message. Call me every day forever now, Sasuke. Sasuke turns to go. "Uchiha Sasuke—" Sasuke turns to Naruto again. "Tell me you love me." Naruto is begging.  
"I love you, Uzumaki Naruto."  
"I love you, too, Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi and Iruka take awhile to locate, for the gym is still jammed with people. Sasuke's dads are talking with Gaara's parents and Lee's parents. Sasuke walks into the hallway and smiles, actually smiles, to see Gaara and Lee wrapped around each other, kissing and groping passionately. They disentangle to breathe and Gaara whispers, "Congratulations." He's referring to Naruto. "You too, Gaara," Sasuke responds earnestly. He's referring to Lee. The redhead nods and grabs Lee again. Sasuke leaves them to their make-out session and walks over to his parents again. "Ready to go?" Iruka asks Sasuke, smiling. Sasuke nods and greets the redheaded couple as well as the bushy-eyebrow couple. He decides not to say where Gaara and Lee are. Kakashi and Iruka bid the adults farewell and weave their way out of the crowded gymnasium, into the crowded parking lot. Naruto looks at Sasuke from halfway across the parking lot and climbs into his car. Sasuke climbs into his—well, Kakashi's—car as soon as the doors are unlocked.

His parents congratulate him and they ask Sasuke what he is going to do now.  
"Get a job, go to college."  
"Where?"  
"I don't know."  
The ice cream is comforting. Sasuke is content. When they get home, he sets his cell phone's alarm to vibrate at two o'clock in the morning. Naruto is staying in a hotel near his old apartment. It will take him awhile to get to KHS. Sasuke changes into his nightclothes, says goodnight to his parents and falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto's car pulls up in the KHS parking lot. Sasuke opens the passenger door. Naruto stares as Sasuke gets in the car. He buckles his seat belt and shuts the door. The engine hums and the car smells of tea. Sasuke is dressed like a tramp, just as he said he would, only it's after graduation at three in the morning. He doesn't usually cross-dress and he hasn't completely—he's wearing boxer shorts over the fishnet and under the skirt. "You look hot." Naruto's voice is thick with lust and Sasuke wonders if he will be able to drive. "Where do you want to go?"  
"To the park." Sasuke is stoic as usual, his posture stiff, rigid and perfect as usual. Both Sasuke and Naruto are wide awake, ever vigilant towards all that threatens them, most of which is their own demons. Drivers-by glance briefly and see a dark-haired woman with her boyfriend, the man a sixteen-year-old and the woman a childlike prostitute whose age they can only guess. No one questions them—the age of consent in Japan is fourteen. Naruto and Sasuke do not care about the other drivers. They focus on each other.

Naruto wears a hooded school sweatshirt with the hood up. The hood hides his nervous bright eyes. Sasuke wonders why he bought it. To support the school, yes. At a fundraiser, probably. His jeans are well-worn. Not torn or stained but comfortable. The black Converse shoes nudge the gas pedal and nuzzle the brake pedal. Naruto's hands twiddle the steering wheel. Sasuke notices his left ring finger and wonders why there is no ring there. Could Melissa and Naruto have broken up? He hardly dares hope.

His reflection in the mirror attached to the car door and he engage in a brief staring contest. Sasuke wears no makeup but has yanked his hair evenly into pigtails. They are tied with navy-blue ribbons, done into perfect bows. The pigtails trail down to his elbows, standing out starkly against the ivory-white, soft cotton blouse. The blouse ends perfectly above the elastic waistband of Sasuke's polyester-rayon-silk tiny, see-through black skirt. It hugs Sasuke's waist and hips, barely falling down to his knees. Underneath this tiny, clingy skirt is boxer shorts. Blue cotton with an elastic waistband. On the back is the cartoon of a wolf's snarling face. On the front, on each short-leg are the words "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" written in deep red characters inside a gray paw-print. Across the waistband of the cotton boxers in the same red characters is written, "Change daily." Antler horns in yellow also decorate the waistband of the navy-blue boxers. Fishnet snakes out from underneath the boxers, slithering down between Sasuke's toes. The black stockings feel deliciously sexy on him, and his thighs definitely feel tingly because of all the different materials on them.

Sasuke wriggles his toes slightly. Iruka would kill something if he saw Sasuke's shoes. Kakashi would probably shake his head and frown behind his mask. Sasuke has quite a collection now but he had no trouble determining what shoes he wanted to wear tonight. Six-inch stiletto platform heels adorn his feet, rhinestone-studded silvery-black. They are also known as hooker heels. In them, Sasuke will tower a full three inches over Naruto. The look he's trying to achieve is that of a slutty schoolgirl, and he thinks he's done well. Naruto is clearly very pleased with Sasuke's taste in sluttish clothing.

They arrive at the park. The moon is a glowing crescent, pouring light onto the ground below. The asphalt is neatly paved and Sasuke's heels click on it. Naruto holds Sasuke's hand as they walk—a white sixteen-year-old with his ageless prostitute girlfriend. Everything is bathed in the dark of the night, made visible only by the crescent moon's glow. Naruto looks pale under the moonlight. Sasuke knows he himself must look like an ethereal being, considering he is pale in the daytime. He remembers a brief conversation with Kakashi a fortnight ago. "Do you remember the teacher I always used to talk about two years ago, the one Iruka asked me if I was having an affair with?"  
"Yes." Kakashi's face had clouded with suspicion.  
"Well, we weren't. I just had a crush on him." Sasuke had never lied to Kakashi. He doesn't know why he did then. The two sat in silence, watching the television program. Kakashi spoke up. "Was he the one with the brown hair?"  
Sasuke was almost surprised. "I don't remember his hair being brown. It was blond."  
"Dirty blond?" Father and son looked at each other and shrugged.  
"He spoke like he was from America, the South?"  
"The East Coast," Sasuke corrected him, attention completely shifted. "What else do you remember? Where did you meet him?"  
"At a parent-teacher event." Kakashi paused, visible eye looking up and to the left as he tried to remember. "I remember him as young, smart, very white and very cute." Sasuke wanted to say, Dad! And express surprise but he didn't. He walked out of the room after nodding. Once he got to his bedroom he laughed uproariously.

Yes, Naruto is very white and pale, calm and serious in the moonlight. Sasuke does not make conversation. Naruto's hand is large and warm in Sasuke's smaller, ice-cold-as-usual hand. They sit on one of the many benches in the park that is surrounded by trees. Naruto hugs Sasuke to him. "I missed you so much," he whispers. Sasuke is tempted to believe him and pulls Naruto's sweatshirt hood back to avoid answering him. His hands settle on Naruto's shoulders, his face a Noh mask as usual.

"I thought about you when I was on the plane. I thought about coming back." Sasuke remains silent, cynical, but some part of him wants to believe his former English teacher. "So many things I saw reminded me of you. I remember everything, Sasuke." This is a ploy to get laid, Sasuke thinks to himself. He has the power to destroy this by saying one word. Sensei. Or 'no.' Choose as one will. Sasuke runs a hand down Naruto's jaw-line, from his ear to his chin. Everything had been and still was a fucking soap opera. "When I was with Melissa, I pretended it was you." Sasuke's eyes widen. "Wow," is all he can say. His thoughts say differently. Did you pull her hair too? Did you bite her? You're eight years older than me, maybe nine. Why, what, how? Did you cry out my name as you came and did she yell at you? Sasuke's mind swims with these questions but his mouth remains shut.

Naruto kisses him, first gently on the mouth, then the neck, then the collarbone. He uses the same tactic he did two years ago to get Sasuke to lay down. The park bench is glossy, finished, almost slippery wood. It is cold. Sasuke's hands seem to move of their own accord as he takes off Naruto's sweatshirt. Naruto removes Sasuke's blouse, murmuring things that shall not be repeated. Sasuke feels Naruto's chest beneath his and realizes how much he wants Naruto still. He is too lust-filled to be ashamed.

Naruto's tongue explores Sasuke's navel, enabling Sasuke to make a noise he didn't think his vocal chords would ordinarily support. He can feel Naruto smile against his abdomen. The crescent moon hangs proudly in the sky. Stars twinkle with their knowledge of this forbidden affair picking up where it left off two years ago. Sasuke wraps one leg around Naruto and removes his shoe from that foot. He repeats the process with the other and places the shoes on top of the neatly folded blouse and sweatshirt. Naruto quietly thanks him and gropes Sasuke's legs with one hand, especially his calves, while removing Sasuke's skirt with the other. Sasuke removes Naruto's clothing in an almost clinical manner and places it on top of the other clothing. Naruto's fingernails scratch Sasuke's thighs as the fishnet stockings are stroked and then removed.

Sasuke and Naruto are going to fuck each other unconscious in a public park. No, wrong labels. Sasuke is going to have sex with his former English teacher, his English teacher nonetheless, in a public place. "Aah!" he cries out, one hand gripping Naruto's hair and the other flying up to cover his mouth. Naruto is ushering Sasuke into his sexuality just as he had two years ago. Naruto continues blowing Sasuke even as he reaches up to pull Sasuke's hand away from his mouth. "I like it when you're noisy," he pauses to say. Sasuke snatches his hand out of Naruto's grasp. He intends to snarl at Naruto but instead moans. Wow. He missed this.

Through his pleasure-induced haze, he suddenly remembers what he wanted Naruto here for. Sasuke shoves Naruto away and hastily dresses himself. Naruto grumpily follows suit without knowing why. The positions of power have switched.  
"Why did you leave me?" Sasuke demands again. Naruto appears trapped, caught in his actions. He speaks slowly, every word saturated with guilt. "Sasuke…I would have been fired even if we had stayed together. Especially if we had stayed together."  
"You egotistical bastard!" Sasuke hisses. "You were on the down low with me!" Naruto's facial expression is one of agony. "No, Sasuke. I wasn't, I—let me explain."  
"So explain," Sasuke snarls. Naruto draws a shaky breath and Sasuke rolls his eyes. "I met Melissa at a party. She was drunk and needed a ride home. Her boyfriend had just left her. Only when we were already driving did she tell me she had no place to live. I needed someone to help pay the rent, and she had a job. So we started living together. She was everything I wanted but she was a woman. We were both lonely. It was a one-bedroom apartment. We started sleeping together. It evolved into a relationship. Then I found you, Sasuke. You were perfect." Sasuke remains silent, wishing this man would stop lying or at least tell him about the other boys. "I talked to Melissa about you all the time. At first, she was delighted. Her feelings turned to envy once she became suspicious."  
Naruto inhales and exhales slowly, running a hand through his hair. "Once her suspicions were confirmed, she and I argued. She stopped sleeping with me shortly before yours and my relationship became more than teacher and student. By the time rumors at school were jeopardizing my position, Melissa barely spoke to me at all. She was rarely at the apartment. She knew we were having sex and never said anything about it until—" Naruto's voice shakes. "She said she could help me keep my job, said she'd keep it out of the media. She'd do it on the condition that either I left you or she and I move to my home state so I could never see you again." Blue eyes hold the gaze of black eyes. "So I left Konoha. I left my job with the ability to come back. I left you." Naruto reaches out to touch Sasuke's face. Sasuke jerks away.

"Don't touch me."  
"The move wasn't enough for Melissa. She got pregnant and said it was my child just to lure me into a lasting relationship!"  
Nothing but a soap opera.  
"I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I should have exercised better judgment."  
"Yes, Sensei, you should have," Sasuke snaps, standing abruptly. "Take me back to my house."  
"So that's it? You're just going to let me go?"  
Sasuke, in the shoes, is three inches taller than Naruto. He nods curtly.  
"I came back for you!" Naruto explodes. "My girlfriend left me because I love you so much, Sasuke." Sasuke regards him coldly and anger makes his voice loud as well. "She left you because you are a lying, manipulative, egotistical bastard!" Sasuke hollers. "And you never loved me!" he screams. "Have the decency to at least drive me home, then get out of my life!"


	8. Chapter 8

Seattle is loud and traffic-filled. Rainy, and filled with caffeine. And gay people. Sasuke fits in well. Kakashi and Iruka take a longer time to adjust but they do. Everything is calm for the first week, except Naruto's incessant e-mails, none of which Sasuke has read. No one knows that they moved. They have not gone to the Seattle police either—they all have culture shock. Sasuke finds the fact that he and his dads moved across the world to flee a stalker foolish. He wants to go home.

Naruto scrawled a message on the front door in Kanji. Sasuke is not pleased. He, Kakashi and Iruka find themselves at the King County District Court after calling the police. Their case, a request for a restraining order, has been moved to Seattle Superior Court. Naruto followed him. He still is. Sasuke is in a fog and can't keep track of the days until court.

The newspaper headlines scream drama, drama Sasuke won't believe. He thinks of the sheaf of papers in his room, the ones declaring that his former English teacher has to stay 300 yards away from him at all times or he will go to prison for five years and be fined twenty-five thousand dollars. Naruto strangled his girlfriend and Seattle rats, not New York rats, had gotten to the baby after Naruto killed her and dumped her in an alley. Sasuke vomits into the kitchen sink. Kakashi and Iruka are terrified for their son and for their own safety. The stars outside, coated with Seattle smog, twinkle with the knowledge of Sasuke's family dealing with Naruto's love.


	9. Chapter 9

Seattle is loud and traffic-filled. Rainy, and filled with caffeine. And gay people. Sasuke fits in well. Kakashi and Iruka take a longer time to adjust but they do. Everything is calm for the first week, except Naruto's incessant e-mails, none of which Sasuke has read. No one knows that they moved. They have not gone to the Seattle police either—they all have culture shock. Sasuke finds the fact that he and his dads moved across the world to flee a stalker foolish. He wants to go home.

Naruto scrawled a message on the front door in Kanji. Sasuke is not pleased. He, Kakashi and Iruka find themselves at the King County District Court after calling the police. Their case, a request for a restraining order, has been moved to Seattle Superior Court. Naruto followed him. He still is. Sasuke is in a fog and can't keep track of the days until court.

The newspaper headlines scream drama, drama Sasuke won't believe. He thinks of the sheaf of papers in his room, the ones declaring that his former English teacher has to stay 300 yards away from him at all times or he will go to prison for five years and be fined twenty-five thousand dollars. Naruto strangled his girlfriend and Seattle rats, not New York rats, had gotten to the baby after Naruto killed her and dumped her in an alley. Sasuke vomits into the kitchen sink. Kakashi and Iruka are terrified for their son and for their own safety. The stars outside, coated with Seattle smog, twinkle with the knowledge of Sasuke's family dealing with Naruto's love.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto bursts into Sasuke's house and Sasuke shudders in fear. He hides in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Naruto finds him and drags him out by the hair. Sasuke bites his lip so as to not cry out in pain. Naruto forces him upright and Sasuke punches him. Blood streams from Naruto's nose as he roars threats at the now-running Sasuke. He chases after him. The door slams behind them as they bolt from the house, directly into the busy Seattle streets. Tires squeal, horns blare and glass breaks as drivers holler at the two. Sasuke runs to get away from Naruto, desperately wishing a police officer would appear. Naruto runs to kill Sasuke.

They weave through alleys and slam into people, uncaring. Sasuke does not look behind him, only in front of him. Running, dodging, shoving, panicking. Naruto is behind him. They barge into an apartment complex. Both men's feet thud on the carpeted stairs. Naruto whirls Sasuke around to face him, slamming him against the door. The twenty-six-year-old kisses the eighteen-year-old. Sasuke has forgotten how strong Naruto is. He is pinning him against the door to the apartment almost effortlessly, kissing him. His kisses still have not changed and they make Sasuke nearly forget his fear. Nearly. He struggles but because Naruto outweighs him by thirty pounds and is pinning him in an impossible way, he cannot escape. Naruto is also taller than him.

Sasuke bites Naruto's tongue and Naruto grabs Sasuke's wrist, squeezing the pressure point. Sasuke twitches in pain and stops struggling. Naruto kicks open the door and they stumble inside. Sasuke isn't handling this the way he should be. How does one handle their ex, driven crazy by rejection, pinning them against an apartment door, then stumbling inside?

Sasuke squirms and Naruto pulls away from him.  
"Why are you doing this?"  
"I still love you."  
"Stop."  
"No. I cannot stop. I will never stop."  
"What do you want?"  
"You."  
Sasuke steps away from him, or tries to. Naruto clutches at Sasuke's elbows so Sasuke cannot move very far. "Naruto, it's over. I'm calling the police—"

The twenty-six-year-old former English teacher grips the sleeves of the eighteen-year-old former student's long-sleeve shirt and heaves him towards the window. Sasuke is still clutching Naruto's arms. They both lurch forward. The glass window shatters under the force and weight of two grown men. It is a ninth-floor apartment. They fall all the way down, never breaking eye contact, even when Naruto's body hits the ground.

"Sasuke. Sasuke, wake up."  
He is being shaken awake.  
"Wha—"  
"Sasuke."  
"What—what?"  
"Wake up."  
He blinks, not immediately recognizing his surroundings. Different hues and shades of blue swirl on the four plaster walls. "You had a bad dream." Sasuke knows he did.  
"What was it about?"  
Sasuke hesitates. "Someone I knew. He died a long time ago."  
"I'm sorry."  
I'm not, Sasuke thinks. He is thankful every day that he walked away without a scratch. He strolls groggily into the kitchen, Daisuke following closely behind. It has been two years since Naruto's death. Sasuke did not grieve. He got a job, went to college and met Daisuke. He is happy now. The sun has not yet risen. The stars outside twinkle with the knowledge of Sasuke's and Daisuke's true love for one another.


End file.
